Manipur violence: The Central government has constituted a peace committee in Manipur under the chairmanship of Governor Anusuiya Uikey. The members of the committee include the Chief Minister, a few ministers in the state government, MP, MLAs and leaders from different political parties.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Committee also includes former civil servants, educationists, litterateurs, artists, social workers and representatives of different ethnic groups.
“The mandate of the Committee will be to facilitate the peace-making process among various ethnic groups of the State, including peaceful dialogue and negotiations between conflicting parties/groups. The Committee should strengthen social cohesiveness, mutual understanding and facilitate cordial communication between various ethnic groups,” the MHA said in a statement.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had visited the state of Manipur from May 29 to June 1 and announced the constitution of the Peace Committee after taking stock of the situation.
Judicial Inquiry Commission probe
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the Chairman of the three-member 'Commission of Inquiry' reached the northeastern state to probe the incident. The commission was constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Justice Ajai Lamba, former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court (Retd.) who is the Chairperson of the Judicial Inquiry Commission and Himangshu Sekhar Das (Retd.) IAS who is a member of the commission arrived in the city.
The Commission is slated to make an inquiry on the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, which took place in the state and thereafter, the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to such violence, whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities or individuals, the adequacy of the administrative measures taken to prevent and to deal with the said violence and riots.
About Manipur violence
Clashes first broke out in the northeastern state on May 3 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts. Around 10,000 Army and Assam Rifles personnel have been deployed in the state to restore peace.
